Shanikusai
by Le Disko
Summary: [KairixSora, SoraxRiku][PostKH] Riku said Sora wouldn't want to sit next to Kairi on the coaster because of her screaming. Sora argued he screamed louder.


**shanikusai **   
_by le disko _  
kairi **x** sora **x** riku

Sora glanced around, luminous blue pools watching everything that his brain dictated them too. He was waiting for his two friends - Riku and Kairi. He had invited them both, but it was a lot harder than that. He had a crush on them both - yes, he knew Riku was a guy, and Kairi was a girl. But when he asked them, he may or may not have been a stuttering, blushing mess the entire time. They had laughed it off, but he didn't know if they took it seriously or not. What if they didn't show up? That would be a bit tragic, he had to admit. Sighing, the fifteen year old reclined a bit, standing in front of the ticket booth, tickets in hand.

What if neither came? He pouted a bit and glared at his shoes, shifting his weight again. Oh, but they would. They both said they would, didn't they? Sora grinned and inhaled the scent of popcorn, cotton candy, and maybe even a bit of throw up, seeing as it was the temporary carnival he was waiting in front of. Everything at the carnival was trendily color coated red and white, even the roller coasters. He wondered if Kairi and Riku would sit together on the roller coaster, because they had been mad at each other ever since everyone had gotten home for reasons he couldn't comprehend.

There he stood, 5'2" glory, dressed in baggy jeans, and an oversized black hoodie with a wife beater under it. Even under all his baggy clothes, since his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, you could see how almost unhealthily bony he was. He'd gotten even more of a tan since he'd been home, skin a light almond color, making his hair seem a bit more blonde than before, and making his deep cobalt eyes contrast with everything.

He sighed. He'd told them to be there in ten minutes, but he was anxious - it almost felt like they were late.

She hummed slightly as she prepped herself up for the date -- or what she thought was a date. Just this morning, Sora had come up to her, looking flustered and asking her to join him at the carnival. Of course, any sane person would've thought of it as a date. And Kairi had liked Sora since forever. Dancing around her room joyfully, she grabbed a simple pink capris and a black and white tank top to pull on. She examined herself in the mirror. Yup, she had to admit it herself -- she looked _gorgeous_. She even added curls to her hair tonight just for effect. After quickly grabbing her various bracelets and necklace off her table and pulling them on, she ran out of the house and to the carnival.

There were about... five minutes till the designated time. She hoped that she'd make it, since she didn't want to keep Sora waiting. She needed to make a good impression on the first date. Kairi's eyes were shining with excitement as she ran as fast as she could to the carnival. She could already see the bright lights in the horizon, indicating that she wasn't too far away.

Her first date with Sora... She was going to make it on time.

….

Riku dressed himself in a pair of simple black pants, along with a white long sleeve with a dark gray shirt pulled over it. Just something clean and casual -- nothing clustery. He didn't want to give off a bad vibe. It was a first date after all, right? At first, Riku just thought it was a simple outing or something, but when Sora had asked him to go to the carnival with him, he was blushing furiously and shuffling his feet. That could mean nothing else but a date. That's what he believed, at least. After making sure his outfit wasn't too bland, he ran out the house.

His house was a bit far from the carnival, so he left it a bit earlier. He had to walk all the way there, after all. Or run, in his case. There was no way he was going to be late. He cracked a smile, forming plans in his mind to tell Sora that he liked him too during the date.

….

The two met when they were approaching the carnival site.

"Riku! What are you doing here?" Kairi asked, frowning.

"Same can be asked to you." Riku replied, with a frown to reflect hers.

They weren't in the best relationship, for some reason, after they had returned to Destiny Islands. One would think that they'd be the best of best friends after all that had happened, but it was completely the opposite.

"Well, I'm here to go to the carnival, of course." Kairi huffed out, hands on her shoulders.

"So am I. As a matter of fact--" Riku cut himself off as he saw someone through the corner of his eyes. Kairi looked too.

"Sora!" They called in unison, smiling. Then the happy expression twisted into shock, confusion, realization, and then anger. They exchanged glares.

"He invited you?"

"I can't believe he called you too!"

They turned their heads back to Sora and forced a smile onto their faces. Both didn't want to look like jerks, with Sora in sight. They had an unspoken, mutual agreement that they wouldn't kill each other when Sora was there.

Sora had shifted nervously, his gaze was averted to his shoes and his head was slightly hung. He honestly didn't know where they were. The tiny male glanced up when he heard his name being called - twice in fact.

A huge smile lit up his features. "Hey! I already got the tickets; you don't have to worry about it. Glad to see you both could make it." He announced, waving his tickets in the air for them to see as he walked up to them.

Wow, they were dressed with _way_ more care than he had. He suddenly felt bad for just wearing jeans and a hoodie with it rolled up a bit. He rubbed at the white terry-cloth wristband on his left wrist and looked over at both of his friends again. "What rides do you want to go on first?" he asked, looking several inches up to Riku, and then a little bit down at Kairi.

This was going to be so much fun, and he knew it.

Well, so much fun for Sora, but definitely not for Kairi and Riku.

They both walked over to the spiky headed boy, and took the spots to his sides. Riku leaned a bit back and gave Kairi a look that clearly spoke, 'Touch him and you die.' Kairi responded with an equally vicious look that was usually foreign to the girl's face. 'Make me.' They exchanged another set of glares before looking down at the overjoyed Sora.

Well, Sora was worth the suffering.

Kairi then smiled up at Sora. "Glad to be able to make it too!" She said, grabbing his arm and latching onto it.

Riku scowled at Kairi's action, who secretly stuck out her tongue at him. He turned his head, and looked around the carnival. "Well, anything you want to ride first."

Sora's face went a very bright shade of red as Kairi not only made contact with him, but grabbed his arm. He opened and closed his mouth in a nervous jumble, before looking up at Riku. "H-how about a roller coaster?" he asked, his now deeper voice shaking a bit. The blush never left his face as he added, "We should eat afterwards... because... I want to spend tons of time in the food court, and um, you'd probably be pissed if you spent all your time watching me eat instead of going on rides together like I'd planned." He said, stumbling over almost every word. He looked very awkward and nervous, blue eyes moving from Riku to Kairi.

"Alright, roller coaster it is." Riku responded, before draping his arm around Sora's shoulders casually and 'gently' yanking him away from Kairi, before walking off to the coaster with Sora.

The girl glowered as the older boy tugged Sora away from her grip. She folded her arms, plotting to get revenge on Riku later. She had to remind herself not to look gloomy, however, before she could force another smile onto her face. Kairi quickly caught up with Sora, and latched onto his arm again. Giggling a bit, she stated, "It's okay Sora, we could spend as much time in the food court as you want."

It must've been a strange sight to others; a spiky haired boy with a girl stuck to his side and a guy with his arm wrapped around his shoulders.

Sora blushed furiously as Riku wrapped his arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer, but he felt a lack of warmth on his arm and noticed Kairi wasn't there. He furrowed his brows together in confusion, before he felt Kairi attach to his arm again, and his blush intensified. He looked at the both, looking flustered and slightly confused. "...H-how a-about we go to... how about that... The hugest roller coaster here?" he said, trying to regain his composure but failing miserably. He glanced at them both, flashing them a sheepish smile.

Seeing Sora so flustered must've been the cutest sight ever. The thought crossed both Riku and Kairi's mind.

Well, at least they both agreed on something.

"Alright then." Riku replied, steering Sora toward the coaster. He tried to get Kairi to let go again, but she wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice. She kept her arms tightly wrapped around Sora, making sure not to let go as they got to the coaster. When they reached the line, however, disappointment fell over both of them. It was one of those kinds where the line was so narrow, that the strip could only fit one person at once. They both let go of Sora reluctantly.

Oh, but trouble would brew once they got onto the coaster, seeing that only two people could fit per car.

Sora blushed again when Riku pulled him closer, and Kairi's grip tightened. His blush began dying down when they got into the line, and he noted it wasn't very long because most of the visitors in Destiny Islands weren't the roller coaster type, fortunately. Sora grinned with delight, taking a step forward in line. "Whoa! It's a red roller coaster!" he said excitedly, eyes surveying the color coordinated theme park. His eyes filled with child-like wonder, before he looked up at Riku and Kairi. "How should we divide up the seats? I'm pretty sure I see Selphie in line, so... that's four." He said, looking up at them. He frowned slightly. "Um... would you two like to sit together?"

Ah, Sora was _so_ cute. It made them both smile. But when Sora cracked the big 'seats' issue, you could imagine the cold looks they shared between each other. Then... the question.

"NO." They both answered firmly and rather icily. When they realize how negative they must've sounded, they both tried to correct themselves in a muddle of broken phrases.

"I mean, if you don't mind..."

"Don't really want to..."

"But if you insist..."

"If it's what you want then..."

"I'd toler- I mean, sit next to her..."

"Me too... but only if you want..."

_Better Selphie than Kairi._ Riku thought, eyeing the red haired girl. They really weren't getting along.

_I really want to sit with Sora..._ Kairi pouted slightly, before joining Sora in the line, followed by Riku.

Sora sent a confused glance at them both, turning around to face them. "Y-you can decide. I don't really - I can't really decide." He said, stumbling a bit. He wasn't sure why they were both acting so weird - it was like an odd conspiracy type thing. "Um... I really, really can't decide." He added, sighing a bit. He looked up and down, meeting both Riku and Kairi's eyes. They were a lot less indecisive than him, and he knew it.

Oh. So Sora turned the decision over to them. That meant trouble!

"I'd be really happy to sit next to _you_, Sora!" Kairi exclaimed, jumping up at the chance. However, instead of looking at Sora while saying it, she was grinning up at Riku. Of course, that meant she was challenging him for Sora.

And Riku never backed down from a challenge. "Nah, I think it'd be better if I sat next to you." He leaned over to Sora and whispered, "You know how loud Kairi screams."

"I heard that!"

"Uh." Sora furrowed his eyebrows and turned around again. "So much for letting you guys decide, huh?" He laughed nervously, not quite sure what was going on. "How about... rock, paper, scissors? Then we can decide who has to sit next to Selphie." He then looked up at Riku and grinned. "I don't know, I'm pretty sure I scream louder."

He was referring to his girlish squeals from when he watched horror movies - but recently, after his voice change, he hadn't shrieked like that. Honestly, he was in no place to judge that.

He smiled again, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He still couldn't understand what was wrong with them, but he didn't mind - they were still the same people, right?

"Alright." Kairi replied, turning around to face Riku to play it out.

"Good idea." Riku told Sora, before looking down at Kairi. "Winner sits next to Sora." He muttered over to Kairi, who only nodded in response.

"Ready-- Rock!"

"Paper!"

"Scissors!"

They both stuck their hands out. Kairi had scissors, Riku had paper. Kairi won.

"Yay!" Kairi cheered, giggling and inching closer to Sora. "I beat Riku! I sit next to you, Sora."

Meanwhile, Riku was boiling inside. Only if it wasn't some luck game. He could beat Kairi in everything else.

"Hey Selphie!" Kairi called out to the girl who was only slightly ahead of them in the line, still beaming over her victory.

Selphie turned around, not aware that 'the trio' were there. When she noticed them, she grinned widely, emerald eyes sparkling to life. "Hey Riku, Kairi, and Sooora!" She said in a playful tone, very much aware of what was probably happening. "What's up?" she asked, looking at them all again.

Sora glanced at Kairi, blushing again. Winner sat next to him? His blush increased when he saw how happy Kairi was about it, too. He wasn't quite sure what it meant, but maybe... she liked him, too? He smiled widely, not noticing he'd zoned out a bit. He faced Selphie. "Oh, do you mind if Riku sits next to you?"

The brunette girl pursed her lips, but it was quickly erased off her features. "Not at all!" she chimed happily, watching as the line only had them and the people behind them left. "Whooo! We're up next!" she cheered, facing away and pumping her fist into the air energetically.

Kairi smiled at the girl, while Riku gave half of a wave to Selphie and just brooded away. The air around Riku screamed murder at the moment.

"We're next!" Kairi repeated to Sora, giggling. "This is going to be so much fun." More so, now that she had one up on Riku and she got to sit next to Sora.

Riku gave Kairi a cold glare as the next coaster came to a stop in the station, and moved over to Selphie. A loss was a loss. He slid into an empty seat, and buckled himself up.

Kairi grinned from ear to ear as she took Sora by the arm again and led him over to one of the empty cars. She went in first, and patted the empty seat by her. "Alright Sora, let's go!"

"Yeah!" Sora cheered happily, a small pink tint to his face, and took the seat next to Kairi. "I wonder where they hid the cameras. You can probably tell because sometimes these people start making out for the photo and..." He was rambling, he noted, and he blushed again. He looked up at Kairi and shot her a toothy grin, happily wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

She probably did like him back, Selphie said so.

Speaking of the brunette female, she happily bounded into the seat next to Riku and beamed up at him, revealing a mouthful of teeth. "Hey, Riku, I know exactly what's going on." She said in a hushed tone so that Sora and Kairi couldn't hear. "That's _soo_ romantic! Do you think Sora notices?"

Kairi returned the smile. "They usually have it right after the highest drop. You can hear the clicks if you listen hard enough." Speaking of which, this led Kairi to another plan... She giggled to herself, before strapping herself in. She let out a sigh of happiness when Sora wrapped his arm over her shoulder. Sora did like her, right?

Riku frowned at Selphie. She knew what was going on? How much of it? "What do you mean, _romantic_? Kairi's such a..." He held himself back on that one. Sighing, he shrugged and replied, "I wouldn't know if Sora notices or not."

Sora smiled happily, noticing her happy sigh. That meant she didn't mind, right? He would easily admit he wasn't so skilled in figuring out girls, and from what Riku said, they often had hidden meanings. This confused him, come to think of it. What if it meant the opposite? Shrugging it to the side, he absently pulled Kairi a little closer. "Really? We should do Mission Impossible poses." He commented in a excited tone, face still a bit red.

Selphie looked up at Riku and grinned. "He does a tiny bit, but doesn't think of it much. I mean, you guys are _so_ obvious, he has to notice somewhat. I mean, look at him and Kairi right now." She said turning away to sneak a glance at the two. Suddenly the cars lurched forwards, initiating the beginning of the ride. Selphie quickly turned around and grinned, a loud cheer escaping her lips.

"Mm." Kairi leaned against Sora when she was pulled closer. "Mission Impossible poses? I don't know about that." She replied, smiling. When she felt the cars starting up, she straightened up again. "Oh, here we go. Hold on tight!" She held one of Sora's hands and grasped it with her own, while holding out the bar with the other. Mentally, she was willing herself not to scream, remembering Riku's comment from earlier.

Riku shook his head, before glancing forward at Kairi and Sora. Oh crap... He cursed to himself, almost urged to taking off his seatbelt and running up to their car just to tear them apart and seat in between them for the rest of the ride. Too busy glaring at the back of Kairi's head; he didn't say a single word when the coaster got into motion.

Sora nodded his head, feeling it jerk a bit from the roller coaster. "This is going to be awesome." He grinned, feeling her grab his hand, and he returned the gesture, giving her hand a slight squeeze. He _really_ liked Kairi - did this mean she liked him back? His grin became a happy smile, feeling his face turn a bright red again.

Selphie looked up at Riku, who looked really mad - in fact, almost violent. She silently cursed her large mouth and looking forwards again. They were being pulled up one of the first hills - one of the most nerve wrecking hills, Selphie would say.

A small blush crept to Kairi's cheeks as Sora gave a slight squeeze to her hand. Her heart was speeding up -- perhaps from realizing the possibility that Sora most likely did like her, or just from the roller coaster starting to climb up. She glanced at Sora, who was blushing furiously. Kairi's heart jumped happily. He likes me! Unless Sora was the kind that blushed from the slightest contact with anyone. But probably not. "Yeah." Kairi's eyes moved to the front, as she watch them ascend the hill. She was deathly scared at the moment. Roller coasters usually weren't her thing... But Sora was here. She gripped the boy's hand tightly.

Riku didn't even pay attention to the ride. He looked to the side, up, and down at his feet. Anywhere but straight forward -- he didn't even want to know what Sora and Kairi were doing.

Sora blushed again as her grip became a bit tighter and glanced at her, noticing how scared she looked. He frowned. "Kairi, are you gonna be okay?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows in concern. Before waiting for her reply, he faced front for a moment, so he could see how long until they reached the first hill, murmuring the lyrics to what seemed like the Opening on Utada's Exodus CD. "I don't want to cross over/from this genre/that genre/between you and I/let's cross the line/you and I." He hummed, taking a total of seven seconds.

He glanced at her, noting how scared she looked.

Selphie bit her bottom lip, looking at Kairi and Sora. "Wow, we're almost at the hill..." She said somewhat just to change the subject.

"Right." Riku replied, not even bothering to look at Selphie nor to the front to see where they were. He was still angry. It just oozed out of him.

"Y-yeah." Kairi stuttered out, trying to sound confident but miserably failing. Sora's soft singing was mostly drowned out by the loud noises the rollercoaster was making, but it calmed Kairi down. A little tiny bit, but still. She squeezed her eyes shut and chewed on her bottom lip nervously as they neared the top. Crawling, crawling...

And then the suspenseful stop. Kairi cracked an eye open, wondering what was going on.

The rollercoaster suddenly started descending at a surprising speed. And Kairi, taken back by surprise, shut her eyes again and broke out into an earsplitting scream.

Riku almost laughed to himself when he heard it.

Sora glanced over at Kairi and frowned at her loud screaming, flinching a bit but not reacting much from the actual drop. "Agh..." he grumbled facing front again.

Selphie screamed loudly, but it was more of a forced out, giggling a bit after her scream. "Damn Kairi!" she exclaimed, laughing loudly and obnoxiously.

In the middle of her continuous train of screaming, Kairi almost could swear that she heard a 'Damn Kairi!' from behind her. But it wasn't her fault that she had slight acrophobia. Roller coasters weren't really her thing.

Riku scooted slightly away when Selphie screamed out. It sounded more happy and purposely done than Kairi's, but nonetheless hurtful to his ears. He just watched ahead as they climbed up and down and around the hills, not really doing much of anything except just that. No screaming, no change in expression. He rode roller coasters too many times to really get a rush out of them anymore.

They started ascending the last and biggest drop, and Kairi opened her eyes again. She gulped audibly, still holding onto Sora's hand.

Sora glanced at Kairi and frowned, tilting his head to the side. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked, looking up at her and furrowing his brows with concern. "Uh... Think about it this way -- me and Riku are here, right?" he laughed a bit, watching the largest hill come closer.

Selphie giggled again, preparing her pose for the camera. She was thinking Charlie's Angels; or something of the sort but she couldn't do anything like with Riku - he probably would kill her with his silver hair.

Riku glanced at Selphie when she started giggling. He could only guess what she was up to.

"I-I'm alright." Kairi answered, willing herself to be calm. She hoped that she was, at least. Kairi shut her eyes when the coaster stopped at the top again. And when it fell, she swallowed her scream long enough for her to plant a kiss onto Sora's cheek as the camera clicked. Then she went ahead and screamed to her heart's content. But in the midst of all her screaming, she grinned inside for being able to do what she had planned to do earlier.

Sora let out a sound of surprise when her lips where on his cheek, but it was very brief, so it wasn't loud or agitated sounded. He looked at her, not so fazed by the coaster, but his entire face was coated a bright red. He laughed for a moment when they were at the end of the hill and smiled at Kairi before facing front and raising one hand into the air, letting the other one stay with Kairi's.

Selphie was giggling loudly and wildly, having done a "hard-core gangstuuurrr" sign with her hands when the camera flashed. She knew it'd be a super-rad photo, and was looking forwards to it far too much for her to have sanity. "Wheee!" she squealed amongst giggles, not failing to let out another: "Damn Kairi!" in the middle of he giggles and squeals of excitement.

Kairi's screams faded as the coaster finally moved to a stop. She giggled and blushed, allowing her grip on Sora's hand to weaken, before finally letting go. "That was fun, wasn't it?" She smiled to Sora. When the announcer overhead told them to exit to the left and have a nice day, Kairi quickly unbuckled and got off quickly. She was a bit shy about facing Sora after she had kissed him. Oh, and she wanted to see Riku's expression when he saw the picture. Didn't want to miss that.

Riku got off the coaster as well, and headed for the picture booth. He saw the shot taken where Selphie had posed all 'gangster-ly' while he had this sort of blank look on his face. Selphie was so very random. So random that he had all but forgotten about his anger until his eyes landed on the picture with Sora and Kairi. His eyes narrowed.

Kairi came over to Riku, smiling. "Like it?" She asked, pushing his buttons a bit. "I think Sora likes me. You should keep away." She warned.

The older boy glared at her, anger rising again to peak immediately. You could just see his calm breaking by looking at his face. He shoved Kairi roughly, causing her eyes to widen as she staggered backwards and almost fell to the ground. "Bitch. I told you not to touch him." He spat out.

Kairi returned the icy glare. "What gives you the right? Sora should be the one to choose whether or not I be able to do anything to him!" She pushed him back as well.

"Don't be so sure that Sora likes you, just because he's friendly."

"You shouldn't be so sure yourself, either. You think Sora would actually like you?"

Some people stopped to stare by now.

"You should know to keep your mouth shut."

"Maybe you could be a little nicer, then I wouldn't be so mean to you."

Riku raised a fist, and struck Kairi in the jaw before he could hold himself back. Kairi cried in pain and surprised. The boy was strong, and she wasn't so sure if her jaw was still in one piece or not. She raised her own hand up and struck Riku across the cheek in a loud slap.

Sora had followed after Kairi, but had paused momentarily to stare at Selphie in a confused manor, seeing as the small teen was trying to hide in a car. He shook his head and walked down the steps and to the little shop that you could view your photos in. He grinned excitedly, opening the door and letting himself in. He looked around until his eyes landed on both his friends, both with bruises on their faces and hateful glares. What had happened?

He voiced his confusion out loud. "Riku? Kairi? What happened?" he asked, furrowing his brows together in shock and concern.

Riku rubbed his burning cheek while Kairi held her bruised jaw with a cupped hand. They were still cursing each other out, until they heard Sora's voice.

You could just see the 'OHSNAP' on their faces as their heads turned toward the boy.

"Nothing." Riku responded, after a long moment of silence.

"Yeah. Nothing." Kairi confirmed breathlessly. Ugh... Her jaw was still hurting like crazy.

Sora furrowed his eyebrows together, pouting a bit. "Are... you sure?" he asked, concern coming into his voice. He wasn't sure why they weren't telling him. Was it some sort of 'don't tell Sora conspiracy' they had going? "Just tell me what happened." He said in a stern voice, which was hard seeing as he had a pretty soft tone of voice by default. He stared at them both blankly, not sure what exactly to say. They had gotten in a fight - even he could see that.

They could tell Sora was serious about this. But neither wanted to explain that they had hit each other. Made them seem like a reckless lot. Riku and Kairi exchanged glances, putting aside their anger for a moment to get out of this situation.

Kairi looked around quickly and pointed to a random lamppost. "Oh, um-- I.. you know... ran into that pole over there." She let out a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, and um, someone knocked into me when I had my hand next to my face and... yeah." Riku added, trying to find an excuse for his bright red hand printed cheek.

A pair of horrible liars, they were.

Sora glanced at them, features relaxing slightly. He had bought their excuses. He smiled, nodding his head. "Okay, I thought you two had gotten into a fight or something like that. Don't get me so worried." He scolded, wagging his finger in a mock-way. He looked up at the several monitors, looking for his picture. When he saw it, his entire face turned bright red. "Oh..." he murmured, able to tell that his face was probably a deep shade of scarlet.

They both looked at Sora in disbelief. He had actually believed them? Sora sure was an oblivious one...

The scary scowl returned when Riku saw Sora blushing over the picture. And even more once Kairi skipped over to the booth and asked for two copies of it. Shaking his head, he tried to draw Sora's attention away. "Wanna go to the food court now?"

Sora faced Riku, features still a bright red. "Yeah." He said, shifting his weight nervously. He looked up at Riku. "Do you think Kairi likes me?" he asked, furrowing his brows together slightly, still fidgeting a bit.

It would explain some things. And Riku would tell the truth, right?

"..." Riku frowned, and turned his back, refusing to give a straight out answer. "...I don't know, do you think so?" He asked. Then, he immediately changed the subject. "Let's head to the food court now, okay?" He glanced over at Sora.

"Hey, wait up!" Kairi called out, running back to the two boys. She handed Sora one of the copies. "Here, you keep one, I keep one." She giggled.

"Sure, thanks for getting them," Sora responded, taking to photo from her and studying it, face turning bright red again, before he glanced up at Riku. "Yeah, let's go." He didn't question the fact that Riku hadn't really answered his question, he just assumed that Riku either didn't care or didn't know. He smiled several inches up at Riku before beginning to walk forwards, thinking that they would follow him.

Riku clenched his fist at his side, trying to keep his anger from getting the best of him again. Stupid Kairi, stupid Kairi, stupid Kairi...

The two lagged behind, and Riku glared at the girl who was smiling away as though she had won the lottery. She had kissed Sora! And he didn't complain about it!

"Don't you dare try anything else." Riku hissed out.

"Not my fault you're too chicken to make a move." Kairi replied, before running up to Sora. Riku quickly followed.

"So... we're going to the food court, right?" Kairi asked, grinning at Sora.

Sora looked at Kairi, feeling the all to familiar blush make it's way up his face. He clutched the photo to his chest, the image part buried in his hoodie as he replied, "Yep. I really hope they have funnel cake." He said, mostly to himself as he continued walking towards the designated food area.

"Mm. Funnel cake." Kairi placed her own photo in her pocket before intertwining her fingers behind her back. "I didn't realize how hungry I was..." She scanned the food court for something she wanted to eat.

Riku pointed to an empty table with exactly three seats around it. "Let's sit there, okay?" He asked, and Kairi nodded. She skipped over to a chair and looked at the two boys again. "I'll be right back with all my food, okay?" She smiled and ran off to buy some food for herself.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Riku dropped himself into an empty seat at the table, allowing his arm to hang on the back of his chair.

Sora nodded, watching her walk off before he took the seat next to Riku. "Hey Riku." He said, stuffing the photo into his pocket. He looked up at his friend. "Is something wrong?" he inquired, tilting his head to the side slightly. Absently he swung his leg forwards anxiously.

Riku shook his head and flashed one of his charming smiles at Sora. "Nothing's wrong." He drummed his fingers at the table for a while, before looking at Sora again. "Want me to buy you something to eat?"

Sora blushed at the sight of his smile. "Um... you don't have to, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want you to." He rambled, rocking back and forth a bit on his chair. He smiled, locking his cobalt gaze with Riku's aquamarine. "Funnel cake." He said, starting to grin.

Riku laughed. "If you said no, I would've thought there was something wrong with you, honestly." He pointed out, before nodding. "Right." He pushed his chair out and stood up. "Wanna come with?" He asked, offering a hand to Sora to pull him up.

"Mmhmm." Sora nodded, gratefully taking Riku's hand. Even though he was busy convincing himself it was a friendly gesture, his face went red again.

Riku pulled the boy up, not failing to notice the blush. He didn't know what to make of it, though. He turned his head this way and that. "Hmm... Funnel cake... Where would they sell funnel cake..." His eyes landed on the little booth that had 'FUNNEL CAKE' in huge letters over it. "Oh." Laughing a bit, he took Sora by the hand and started off in the direction of the booth.

Kairi returned to the table, all the food that she had bought stacked onto a tray. To her surprise, neither Sora and Riku were there. She looked around, and spotted them heading to the Funnel Cake Stand, and frowned.

The heavy blush never left Sora's features as Riku didn't let go of his hand. He lagged behind a bit, letting a quiet, nervous giggle escape his lips. "I hope the ones they have here are good." He said as the stand was only a few meters away.

"Probably are. They usually are at big carnivals like this." Riku replied, before moving up to the counter. "One funnel cake, please." And only then, when he had to pull out his wallet to pay for the cake, did he let go of Sora's hand. Reluctantly, one might add. He paid the ridiculously high price -- as things usually were in carnivals and such -- before turning back to Sora. "Hey Sora, do you like Kairi?" Riku asked, rather directly.

Sora had been watching them bring out the funnel cake so intently he barely noticed Riku asking the question, but when it sank in he blushed and shrugged. "I don't know." He replied, before adding, "I think so." He frowned, wondering if Riku was going to tell him that Kairi didn't like him very much.

"Damn." Riku muttered. He didn't realize that he had just voiced the thought aloud. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he watched them prepare the funnel cake and finally slide it onto the counter. "Thank you." Riku said as he took the funnel cake and handed it to Sora. "There you go."

"Thanks so much!" Sora chirped, taking the sugar coated treat from Riku. Why did Riku say 'damn'? Sora couldn't quite figure it out, and quickly brushed it aside to think about later, maybe. "That was really nice." He added, staring intently at the pastry and starting to walk towards the table.

"No problem." Riku replied, giving Sora half a smile before heading back to the table too.

Kairi looked a bit peeved. "Where did you two go off to?"

Sora looked up at Riku and flashed him a smile before directing his gaze at Kairi. "Oh, Riku said he'd get me a funnel cake, so we went to get a funnel cake. Sorry for not telling you," he replied, taking a seat at the table and beginning to rip off a piece of the funnel cake.

"Oh, I see." Kairi replied, smiling at Sora. But once the boy dug into the funnel cake, her smile immediately turned upside down and she scowled at Riku. The older boy simply grinned as he took the last seat at the table. Sighing, Kairi started poking at her own chili cheese fries. Well, she still got to kiss Sora, so it was good enough.

Sora, who had jammed a huge amount of the funnel cake into his mouth, heard Kairi sigh and he looked up. Once he had swallowed the pastry, he looked at Kairi, raising an eyebrow before tearing another piece off of the funnel cake. He bit his bottom lip in thought, staring intently at the plate, but failing to put the food in his mouth. He still wasn't sure what was going on, and was trying to figure it out. Somehow, he couldn't quite figure it out. His cobalt eyes went unfocused as he zoned out, staring at the funnel cake blankly.

Kairi was chewing her fries slowly, and noticed something in the meanwhile. Swallowing, she raised her brows. "You're not eating anything?"

"Not hungry." Came the brief reply.

"I see..." Kairi trailed off, before shrugging and returning to her food. She didn't care enough to inquire any further.

Riku glanced over to Sora, and noticed that the boy wasn't eating. He was just... kind of... frozen in place while staring at the funnel cake. "Something wrong?" He asked, nudging the other a bit.

Sora, who had snapped into reality because of the nudge, suddenly snapped his head up and then faced Riku. "Huh?"

He blinked slowly, realizing he had zoned out. "Oh, no. I just kind of spaced out." He replied, inserting more of the funnel cake into his mouth.

"Oh, okay. Are you sure?" Riku furrowed his brows. It wasn't that rare a sight to see Sora zone out, but when there was good food in front of the boy, then yes it was. He wondered what was going through his friend's mind.

Kairi looked up from her food and looked from Sora to Riku across the table. 'What did you do now?' She mouthed.

"I'm fine." Sora replied distractedly, before eating a bit more of his funnel cake, staring blankly and clearing the funnel cake at the same time. It was a skill someone like him was able to acquire - to eat and space out at the same time. He was still trying to figure out why Riku and Kairi weren't acting like friends anymore, and it took a lot of thought. He suddenly knew what he wanted to ask as he looked up. He took time to study them both before asking: "Riku, Kairi - are we all still best friends?" he asked slightly worriedly.

"..." There was an awkward silence after the question was asked. Neither of them knew how to answer that. Both of them had crossed each other's fine lines and had formed a sort of hatred toward the other, mainly due to the fact that they had a crush on the same person. Sora.

So they chose to remain quiet, trying to avoid Sora's blue eyes at all cost.

"Not really..." Riku muttered out quietly under his breath.

Sora frowned, hearing Riku's reply that was audible after the silence. He sighed sadly and slumped his shoulders a bit, leaning over his near-gone snack. "Aw..." He murmured, blue eyes looking quite a bit downcast. "I thought something was up..."

"Sorry." Kairi added, not liking Sora's obvious disappointment. She wanted him to be happy. To smile. Riku thought the same way, too. "But... don't feel down!" She patted Sora on the shoulder.

Riku forced on a smile, trying to bring Sora's mood up. "Yeah. We're still really great friends, no?" It was half a lie. Kairi and him were anything but great friends at the moment.

"Right." Sora chirped in a slightly bi-polar manor, a wide grin spreading across his features. He stuffed a bit more of the pastry into his mouth, and then swallowed it loudly, grinning. "Okay, what should we do after this?" he asked, eyeing them both.

Kairi smiled. "Okay! How about..." She went into a thoughtful mode. And Riku wasn't liking the mischievous glimmer that soon appeared in the girl's eyes. He could just sense trouble brewing again.

"...the Ferris wheel?" She concluded, folding her hands on her lap with a large smile.

"Oh! That would be fun! And it wouldn't make my stomach hurt." Sora exclaimed; each sentence a different emotion behind it. He looked at his now empty plate (with the exception of power sugar on it) and picked it up, ready to toss it out. "Good idea." He commented, absently playing with the powder sugar on his paper plate.

Kairi took her half finished chili cheese fries and tossed it out into a nearby bin. She turned to Sora and smiled. "Let's go, then!"

Riku stood up, rubbing his temple. He just knew that this would lead to another argument. He just knew it. And his cheek, well, he could still feel the ebbing pain on the flesh. "Alright. It's over... there." Riku pointed out the direction in which he saw the Ferris wheel before.

Sora balled up his plate, and with a twist of luck managed to throw it directly into the center of the waste basket. Mirth filled his eyes as he turned to face Riku and Kairi. "How about we race there? That's how we'll decide on the seats. The first two there have to sit together." He said, nodding his head. It seemed like a great plan, and he _really_ had the urge to run.

Riku smirked. Kairi's jaw dropped. They realized who was going to win already.

"Alright then. It's on." Riku said, preparing himself. If Sora ran at a normal, good pace, then Riku would be able to beat Kairi to the Ferris wheel.

And Kairi, knowing that the balance was tipped heavily to Riku's favor, shook her head. "N-no! Not a race!"

"Come on Kairi, it'll be fun." Sora glanced at her, then prepared himself like Riku did. "...Okay... are you ready?" he asked, looking at them both.

Kairi frowned. She really wasn't up for this. But she'd try, for Sora's sake. She lined up next to the boys, and sighed, waiting for the go.

"Ready." Riku confirmed, nodding.

Sora grinned, "Okay. On your mark, get set, go!" he announced in a professional tone, taking off as soon as he said 'go'. No way was he gonna lose.

Riku pushed himself forward and took off into a quick sprint. He dodged in and out of the crowds, keeping an eye on Sora to make sure that he was still in sight.

Kairi started to run after the boys, but was already lagging behind. She was never much of a runner.

Sora began laughing excitedly as he sped up, making sure not to slam into anybody on the way to the Ferris wheel. He saw Riku pulling ahead and frowned, speeding up. He looked up at the Ferris wheel, watching the distance decrease quickly.

When Sora glanced in his direction and sped forward, Riku mimicked the actions and pushed on as well. The Ferris wheel was close in sight, and Kairi was nowhere in sight.

Actually, Kairi had sort of given up a bit back. She knew there was no way that she could compete with either Sora or Riku's speed.

Sora frowned as Riku sped up, but didn't bother to make himself collapse when they got there. He continued his sprint, realizing it was only several meters away. He'd began closing the distance, panting a bit.

He was _so_ out of shape since his Keyblade Master days.

Riku slowed down a bit when he closed onto the Ferris wheel, and finally skidded to a stop in the front of the line. He looked around to see if Sora got there, too, since he lost track of where the boy was during the last minute.

Kairi squeezed through several people. She was walking by now.

Sora slowed to a jog before coming to a halt in front of Riku. "Aw... you won..." He said, slightly out of breath. He _really_ should stop forging excuses in gym class. He looked up at Riku and the turned around. "Whoa, what happened to Kairi?"

"There you are." Riku said, walking over to Sora. He looked breathless, leading Riku to wonder if the boy was unfit. "Mm... I don't know." He replied, placing a hand over his eyes and looking around for the girl. He was smiling though, knowing that he and Sora were the first two to the ride. That meant they were going to sit together.

"...Finally..." Kairi huffed out as she appeared from the crowd and walked over to the boys. "Guess I lost."

Sora cleared his throat, obviously very out of shape. "Heh, Kairi, you have to sit alone, sorry." He commented, grinning before turning around to go get in line.

Kairi frowned. Didn't Sora like her? Shouldn't he at least make an effort to get her to sit with him, rather than Riku? She sighed in defeat. "Alright, then." She considered just not riding the ride at all, but then she'd look like a poor sport since she was the one who suggested this in the first place.

Riku smiled, as he entered the line. "Hey, the line's not that long." He pointed out, seeing that there were barely any people in front.

"Yeah, people usually go on it when it's getting dark." Sora replied a bit absently, looking around. He liked being aware of his surroundings, a paranoia acquired from his "journey". He looked at Kairi and tilted his head to the side slightly before looking half a foot up at Riku. He grinned. "Oh, they're already boarding too." He commented, grinning as he took a step forwards, waiting for the people head of them to get into a car. Glancing around in a slightly wary fashion, he waited for their turn.

"That's true." Riku replied, putting his hands into his pockets and moving forwards. Once the people in front of them were boarded, the Ferris wheel rotated some more until a group exited one of the suspended cars and the worker at the front of the line ushered the next people in line in -- Sora and Riku. The silver haired male looked back at Kairi and smiled. "Catch you later, Kairi."

She gave a puff in reply, stubbornly crossing her arms and turning her head away.

Riku slipped inside, and waited for Sora to get in as well.

Sora ungracefully stumbled into the car, taking the seat next to Riku. He waited for the car to begin moving, feeling excitement rise in his chest. "This is going to be great." He commented, once again letting his eyes travel around the area in a slightly wary manor. Maybe it was all the creaking that had set him off; he couldn't tell. He turned to face Riku and swung his legs forwards for a moment.

Riku nodded. The worker closed the door for them, and then the Ferris wheel slowly began to turn again, raising their car to the air. He glanced out the window just in time to see Kairi board one of the other cars, before turning his attention back toward Sora. "Hey Sora, what do you find so great about Kairi?" He asked, taking advantage of the time alone. Maybe if he found out, it could use it to his benefit... or something.

Sora stopped fidgeting to look at Riku. He blinked in surprise, noting how out of the blue his question had been. "Um... she's nice. And smart and pretty." He said simply, showing what grade he got in writing. He swung his legs again, frowning - he was way too short for someone his age.

"Oh." How general. Riku didn't get anything out of that. He frowned, before shrugging and looking out the window as they neared the top. "Hey, nice view." He commented, before looking back at the boy next to him. He seemed really antsy. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just a little paranoid. For some reason, I feel like a Heartless will appear out of nowhere." Sora said a bit quickly, glancing around again before looking at Riku. "It's a pretty rad view, though."

"Heartless?" Riku repeated, raising a brow. "Sora, we haven't seen one of those in... forever. Don't worry." He said in a reassuring voice. He scooted a bit closer and wrapped an arm around Sora and pulled him closer. "There. Feel more secure?" He asked, smiling.

Sora's face turned bright red, but he didn't find any will to protest. "Y-yeah." He glanced away nervously, allowing Riku to pull him closer. "I'll try not to worry." He promised, managing a nervous grin.

"Okay." Riku faced away too, feeling a little nervous at the moment. But if Sora didn't push him away, then that was probably a good sign, right? He wasn't liking the uneasy and quiet atmosphere, however, so he tried to start up a conversation. "Well... Nice weather, no?" Yeah, uh, great start.

"Heh, Riku the weather here is always like this." Sora replied, laughing a bit, but it was a bit more to break the silence. Subconsciously, he relaxed a bit against Riku, staring up at the ceiling.

When Riku felt Sora become less tense, he also relaxed a bit too. It was obviously a good sign. "Heh... You're right." Riku replied, chuckling. After fading off to silence again, Riku turned his head to look at Sora. "Hey Sora."

"Of course I'm right." Sora replied jokingly before looking up at Riku. "Hey what?" He repeated, face still slightly red. Riku's arm hadn't left his shoulder, and Sora wasn't sure if he was hinting anything, but it managed to keep him blushing.

When Sora looked his way, Riku quickly leaned in and placed a short kiss on the boy's lips, before looking away just as fast. He didn't know what Sora's reaction would be, and didn't know if he'd want to see it or not.

It was almost unreal to Sora. Suddenly, Riku had pressed his lips to his own, and then looked away just as quickly. He kind of went into shock, staring blankly, trying to figure out what the hell had happened. It sunk in slowly, and then it all made sense. Riku... liked him? Sora's face turned a bright scarlet as he looked at the back of Riku's head. His voice wasn't working yet, and even if it was, Sora wouldn't have any idea of what to say.

His cobalts went dangerously unfocused, and Sora literally felt like he was going to faint.

After looking away for a very long time, and having no reaction from Sora, Riku eyed the boy again. And seeing the blush on Sora's face caused Riku's own cheeks to flush. "Sora...?" He asked, but suddenly the Ferris wheel stopped. It was the end of their ride. He quickly removed his arm from the boy and cleared his throat. "We've got to get off now."

Sora nodded, still slightly in a daze. "R-right." He responded in a quiet voice, not aware he had a voice to talk with until that moment. He'd gotten kissed twice, now that he thought about it. He put his hand in his pocket and fingered the photo, his blush intensifying. Even _he_ knew what that meant.

As the employees came and opened the car, Sora stepped out wordlessly, feeling his legs go highly unstable.

Riku followed Sora out the car, not knowing what to say to the boy. Sora still hadn't really said anything to him yet regarding the kiss. But for now, he wouldn't ask his friend what he thought about it. After stepping off into the exit, he watched as the Ferris wheel turned a bit more and stopped again at Kairi's car.

She stepped out, and immediately spotted the flustered Sora. She opened her mouth, before quickly moving over to Riku. What had happened during the ride?

Sora watched as Kairi and Riku stood next to each other, and not only did the color of his face intensify, he felt mighty dizzy. "We... should... uh..." He frowned, cursing his current inability to make coherent sentences. He straightened up slightly, feeling his sudden dizziness to go away. He looked away quickly, not having any idea of what he could say.

Riku had no idea what to say or do. It was obviously the kiss that had caused Sora to behave so strangely. Maybe he shouldn't have.

Kairi gave a quick glare to Riku before running over to Sora's side and holding him by the shoulders. Her eyes held concern. "Sora? Are you alright? What happened?"

The brunette looked at her and he frowned. He couldn't stop his mouth from moving as he blurted, "You both like me, don't you?" His blush deepened slightly as he realized that he'd actually said it out loud. However, he didn't try and play it off as he looked away nervously.

Kairi opened her mouth in shock, but closed it again. She looked back at Riku. He had told Sora, hadn't he? That was why the boy was so shaken up. "Actually..."

"Yeah, we do." Riku stated. It wasn't something they could shake off with another excuse.

Sora frowned. How come he had to be right? He liked them both, and didn't want to hurt either of them. He fell silent, glaring at his shoes. So he was the reason they weren't all best friends, either. His frown was replaced by a scowl as this sunk in. And when they had been swearing at each other and holding their faces - they had a fight, probably. He suddenly felt an immense amount of self-loath. He knew that he wouldn't be able to choose, and if he did decide, he'd feel terribly guilty. So maybe... he should give them both equal treatment? No, he decided. That was unfair. He couldn't lie and say he didn't like them back, he'd feel even worse. "I... don't know." He said out loud, referring to just about his entire train of thought. "I don't know what to do..." He repeated, looking up for the first time since he'd figured it out.

Riku and Kairi glanced at each other. They felt so guilty all of a sudden, fighting over Sora like they were and never wondered what position they'd be putting Sora into. Concern and sadness washed over them both and they moved over to Sora and tried to calm him down.

"Sora, it's okay. You don't have to do anything." Kairi said.

"Yeah. Let's just forget about all this for now. Okay?" Riku added, leading Sora away from the Ferris wheel area.

Sora furrowed his brows slightly, but he agreed. He _really_ didn't want to think about it. He smiled. "Yeah, okay." He said, feeling a lot better. "So... how about this. For the time being..." He grinned and in one moment he leaned up and pressed his lips to Riku's cheek, and then in turn kissed Kairi's cheek. "... Let's go to the giant drop."

Riku and Kairi both blushed slightly in turn. Looking at each other, they decided that for now, they'd leave it at this. It was no use to fight over Sora any longer. It was his choice, in the end.

And they were willing to wait for his response, just like he had waited for them to come to the carnival.

…

**A/N**:

An RP.  
Oh snaps.  
Jamjari & Ayumiyori are now active.

REVIEW.

And there will be spelling errors.  
I (Ayu) lost my spiffed version. Sorry.


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